You’ve probably heard of chat. As an active social media goer, website browser and possibly even blogger, chatting is probably something you do often. Facebook has its own messenger; Twitter allows you to “tweet” to friends and followers; even Google has its own messaging program that allows you to talk to people who are online at the moment. Even texting is a form of chatting. So this begs the question: why isn’t chatting used to talk to clients and customers?
In fact, there is something called Live Chat that can be integrated easily into almost any website. Since it’s important to provide clients and potential clients with as many ways as possible to get in touch with you, Live Chat can be essential in many niches. It’s intuitive to simply message someone when help is necessary; Live Chat eliminates the need for several phone lines or the 24-48 hour wait time that emailing might have. Here are a few other reasons to invest in Live Chat.
It’s Really Easy
If your website is well-designed, your phone number and email are easily accessible. However, sometimes people don’t want to wait for that email return or to call anyone on a telephone. They want to be able to ask you questions while they also complete other tasks. When you install and take advantage of Live Chat, it’s easier for customers to simply inquire and place orders then and there. If your website has an e-commerce side, customers are able to ask questions about their orders then and there so nothing delays their purchase.
Not Everyone Has It
Live Chat is popular, but it’s not as popular in technology niches as it is in others. Not everyone has invested the time and money into getting their Live Chat up and running. If your competitors are some of these people, then you have a distinct advantage over them the minute you install Live Chat and use it to your advantage.
It’s Not That Expensive
Lots of big businesses simply outsource a ton of their customer service, but since you’re not that big a business, that’s probably not an option for you. Funds are often limited as you are growing your business, but the great thing about Live Chat is that you don’t need a huge team to help make it successful. A few well-trained employees can make all the difference, and they can even be employees you already have that are just trained in what to say and how to say it.
Just like everything you do as a small business, the advantages you might have eventually will probably not happen overnight. However, consistency and perseverance often make the difference between success and failure. Don’t be afraid to see if Live Chat works for you and your customers: it’s cheap, it’s easy to understand, and you’ll be ahead of the game just by thinking about using real-time customer chatting.